Video: Jordyn Smith's highlights vs. Dobson High School
Mountain Pointe linebacker Jordyn Smith, shown last season, will begin his season on zero week.The summer is getting shorter and the season is getting longer.
A good portion of Arizona high school football teams officially begin practice Monday in preparation for the first week of games, held Aug. 20-21.
It puts the Arizona football coaches in the position of having to care for athletes, more than 100 in some programs, during the final week of July in some portions of the state have the hottest average temperatures in the nation.
"We start so early,"
Seton Catholic (Chandler) coach Gary Galante said. "It wasn't always the case, but now with the zero week games we are practicing in July. We are in the hottest state and we are practicing before most other states.
Gary Galante at Brophy Prep (2013)
File photo by Mark Jones
"I think we need to look at resetting the (Arizona Interscholastic Association) clock and going back to a more traditional start."
While it might be something to ponder in the future, there is no changing the fact that Monday is the first official practice of the year for some programs, while others start the following week and open the season on Aug. 27-28.
It doesn't matter if the coach is about to start their 31st season running a program - like Norris Vaughan of
Mountain Pointe (Phoenix) - or the coach is someone like Galante, as he returns to a head coach position for the first time since the late 1990s. The next few weeks leading up to the first game are critical for the 2015 season.
That's not to say a championship moment is in the offing during training camp, but it sure can set the tone.
"Games have pressure moments when the game is on the line," said Vaughan, who is 242-100-2 in his career. "That's when championship moments happen. But there are moments where you can grow and mature during camp. You develop toughness and stuff like by putting them in situations where they are up against things that aren't in their favor."
So it begins.
Teams have four weeks to begin the preparation for an 11-week gauntlet and each coach goes about it differently.
Galante gets that chance finally after he had many chances over the years to leave
Brophy College Prep (Phoenix), where he was considered one of the state's top defensive coordinators.
He always stayed for developing the "Men for Others" mantra that Brophy reveres and embodies on a daily basis, but he decided it was time – at age 50 – to take over a program for the first time since coaching Arizona Boys Ranch.
"I purposely ended up at a Catholic institution," he said. "I couldn't take the spiritual component out of it. It is really important to me and for the kids. I'm really excited to see what Division III is all about.
"I think it is a unique and great location right there at Chandler, Tempe and Ahwatukee for those who want something other than the traditional choice."
Galante, who coached under Jesse Parker at Mesa Mountain View in the mid-1990s, has had the whole summer to get a feel for what type of talent the Sentinels, who lost in the state semifinals last year, have returning.
"This is phase one," he said. "We will do what we can do in camp and maximize our time to lessen the learning curve. I want kids to be leaders, care for what they are doing and have a passion for football."
Jason P. Skoda, a former Arizona Republic and current Prep Sports Director for 1013 Communications, is a 20-year sports writing veteran. Contact him at jskoda1024@aol.com.
